Shaken, not stirred

Design by Seongeun Kim

Apples slices tasted strong at the end

Even apple flavored jelly beans

Sometimes you just have to party like a boss!

This is at Twice Lounge in Cheongdam.

Cheongdam is a very ritzy neighborhood in Seoul.

Murphy, Gavin Murphy

I see myself as more of the 007 type with my martini.

But sadly, I'm probably closer to J.D. from Scrubs.

Appletini please...easy on the tini.

1st course: sushi salad

2nd course: pizza

That's a cheesy pizza

3rd course: Assorted items in a cheese spread

Can't complain about this 3 course meal.

Except perhaps for all that cheese.

Good thing I'm from Wisconsin, where we love our cheese.

4th round: White wine

Workers came around to refill us

For dessert we decided to have some white wine.

I'm not used to this kind of service Twice Lounge provided

Felt a little out of my element.

Seongeun and her friend Jaehee

Me and Jaehee

The best part of partying like a boss...

When someone else's boss pays for it.

Jaehee works for a liquor import company,

and this event was set up by her.

All this glitz and glamor was comped!

Tsingtao is a Chinese beer

Cheers!

Sticky buns and side dishes

Lamb kebabs

We weren't ready to end the night, so we headed to the next place.

In Korea they call this 이차 (pronounced: e-cha)

This means "round 2" at a new place.

I gotta say beer and lamb kebabs go quite well together.

And I love these sticky buns, but I prefer them fried.

Special thanks to Jaehee (friends call her Jetty).

She made this night possible, 

and kept it inexpensive!

Macau...the night!

The Venetian Hotel & Casino

It had reached nightfall in Macau, and we were cold.

We needed to get inside ASAP.

Here we come fake Venice!

Always daytime in fake Venice

Stepped into a whole new world

 We've both been to the real Venice, and this doesn't quite compare.

However that is no slight to The Venetian. 

This hotel & casino is still a sight to see.

The attention to detail was amazing.

Our turn for the gondola

We want the guitar gondolier!

Ask and ye shall receive

Many of the gondoliers were from Asian countries.

Our gondolier, Mario, was from Milan, Italy.

And a classically trained opera singer.

Cha-ching!

My turn for the hat

Sing on Mario

His singing did not disappoint.
It was a pretty romantic setting.

Except for the mom & son sitting across from us.

And the crowd of people gathering around.

Taipa Village

Village steps 

Taipa village shops

Our last stop of the night was to another village.

But this time we didn't have to leave Macau.

Taipa Village is not too far from The Venetian.

Kuma Bakery

Bitter Sweet

Plenty of desserts

We intended to try Kuma Bakery, but it was closed this night.

As we walked on, we found Bitter Sweet.

It was a small, 2-story, cafe.

Cake & coffee

We had serradura cake and a coffee.

The coffee was average, but the cake was quite good.

Here is Mario singing an Italian opera song.

Here Mario sings a traditional Korean song, Arirang, for Seongeun.

Snow globe

The weather in Macau was cold, but at least no snow!

Between Hong Kong & Macau,

these were 2 of the busiest days of travel I've had.

But everything we did made this trip so memorable.

Wouldn't change a thing.

Macau...the day!

Macau here we come

After a busy day in Hong Kong we hopped on this beast for a 1 hour ride to Macau.

All aboard

Hong Kong was nice, but we were ready to see what Macau had to offer.  

Just me and Seongeun...and this creepy photo bomber.

Senado Square

Senado Square Church

Our first stop was Senado Square, near our hotel.

Macau had a very European feel to it.
That's largely due to Portuguese colonization. 

Besides the strung up decorations for the Chinese New Year, I didn't feel I was in China.

Almond cookies...yum!

Beef jerky...yummier!

More please

The Ruins of St. Paul's Cathedral is nearby Senado Square.

But even better than some ruins, was this street on the way there.

This street is lined with food stalls selling snacks like these.

The best part, they give out free samples.

I was ready to buy some jerky and cookies after my first taste.

Luckily Seongeun knew better than to buy.

We enjoyed free samples the whole way up the street.

By the time we got to the top, I wasn't hungry anymore.

Highly recommended sandwich shop

Pork or beef?

Get a room you two!

Right before the ruins was this sandwich shop.

Seongeun researched it, so we knew to save room for it.

We chose the pork sandwich. 

It smelled so good, I had to kiss it first.

The taste was even better than the smell.

Pretty sure Seongeun got a little jealous.

She ate the sandwich pretty aggressively after this.

Ruin's of St. Paul's Cathedral

Hey! There's nothing back here.

See...literally nothing.

This Portuguese cathedral was erected in the 17th century.

It was dedicated to Saint Paul the Apostle.

The cathedral was destroyed in 1835 by a fire, during a typhoon.

Yep, a fire and a typhoon! You read that right.

Nowadays the facade is all that is left.

Portuguese man and Macanese woman

Cheesy?...You betcha

Near the ruins is this statue.

It represent the love between a Portuguese man and Macanese woman.

I wonder whose idea it was to copy the pose???

Just in case the pose wasn't awkward enough...

the other tourists took pictures of us like they were paparazzi. 

Coloane Village

Coloane Church

It's so yellow.

Church courtyard

Coloane was one of my favorite destinations of this trip.

The town looked like something out of a fairy tale.

It was a sleepy little fishing village, famous for this yellow church.

The church wasn't easy to find, and the weather wasn't cooperating. 

Lord Stow's Bakery

Egg tarts to die for.

One of the best things I've tasted.

But the real reason this village topped my list...

was because of this bakery.

Lord Stow's makes delicious egg tarts.

I'm serious when I say these are soooooo good.

I would probably punch a baby in the face to eat these again.  That good!



We were only in Macau for one day.
But this post is already getting a bit long.
So I will break it into two posts.